Division

There are many instances of new villages being created in Raja Ampat... a village literally being divided into two, not physically or geographically (no new village sites), but purely administratively.  It is extremely strange, especially considering that there is no increase in population to warrant it.

The longer I'm here in Raja Ampat, the more conspiracy theories I'm exposed to, and the less preposterous those conspiracy theories sound... this splitting up of villages, for instance, seems to me to be based more on two alterior motives than the need for new administrative clout due to population expansion…  Those two reasons have to do with money and power.

Regardless of very small populations, an additional village means an additional set of administrative officials and an additional set of monies that are distributed yearly…  This infusion of cash should be a good thing for community development... right?  Well, in addition to the new funds, it turns out the new officials are not elected, as I had always assumed they must be (you know, the ‘head of the village’ is originally from the village, and elected by and represents the people)… but no, that is not necessarily the case... they are appointed, and almost always foreigners (from other parts of Indonesia, most often Java).

In this way, it splits up the native people and strips them of any administrative powers they might have to empower their own communities and people.  Because the head of the village feels no connection or responsibility to the community, he robs the coffers blind and does nothing to further the community and feels no remorse about it at all.  Every trip I have been on with the Kalabia in the past 6 months has had at least one or two new villages either just placed or in the works…  It has basically become a bit of a joke… ‘Village limits’ are just lines drawn through the centre of town… they’re not actually ‘new village sites’!

The worst part is that the people are blindly happy and proud that they have received a ‘new village’, and in a lot of cases, completely oblivious at what is actually happening.

The splitting up of 'Districts' (originally 4 when I first came to Raja Ampat, now 24), has been sited to me as another means of dividing the people...  And not only that, but because each District must have a military police post, manned by migrants brought in from other parts of Indonesia, the area ends up being blanketed in an Indonesian military force.  This seems suspiciously convenient given the current state of the Papuan freedom movement, and the genocidal techniques the Indonesian government has employed in the past to quell uprisings in both Timor and Papua... Doesn't it?

Sorry, I usually try to keep politics and work out of these blog posts... but I guess it's just getting too exasperating!